Vice President of People

Job Description

Job Description

NEW WATERLOO is hiring for a VICE PRESIDENT OF PEOPLE 

The Vice President of People is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping and strengthening New Waterloo's culture, talent strategy, and employee experience across a growing portfolio of independent hospitality concepts spanning multiple properties and states. This role serves as a strategic partner to executive leadership, ensuring our people strategy supports business growth while fostering an engaged, high-performing, and values-driven organization.

The ideal candidate is an experienced People leader who is equally comfortable thinking strategically and rolling up their sleeves to support the business. They understand how to build strong teams, develop leaders, navigate complex employee relations matters, and create scalable people practices that support operational excellence. This individual will serve as a trusted advisor across the organization while leading a People function that balances culture, accountability, compliance, and performance.

The Vice President of People is a thoughtful leader, trusted coach, and hands-on operator who believes exceptional hospitality starts with exceptional people. They will champion New Waterloo's values while building the systems, processes, and leadership capabilities that allow our teams and our businesses to thrive.

What you'll do: 

• Lead the development and execution of a scalable People strategy that aligns with company growth, operational priorities, and long-term business objectives.
• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to executive leadership on organizational design, workforce planning, talent strategy, employee experience, and all People-related matters.
• Lead, coach, and develop the People team while establishing clear accountability, performance expectations, and career growth opportunities across both direct and matrixed reporting relationships.
• Partner closely with General Managers and operational leaders to align People priorities, support workforce planning, improve labor efficiency, and strengthen leadership effectiveness across all properties.
• Drive consistent People practices across the organization while balancing operational flexibility with company standards and ensuring an exceptional employee experience throughout the employee lifecycle.
• Lead complex employee relations matters, workplace investigations, conflict resolution, performance management, and other high-impact or sensitive employee situations while mitigating organizational risk.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local employment laws and oversee company-wide policies, procedures, handbooks, wage and hour practices, employee classifications, and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with legal counsel, insurance providers, and executive leadership to manage employment-related claims, audits, disputes, and other compliance matters.
• Oversee payroll, benefits administration, PTO programs, and other People operations while ensuring accuracy, compliance, and operational excellence.
• Partner with Finance to develop competitive compensation and benefits strategies, support labor planning, analyze workforce metrics, and improve labor cost management.
• Lead HR systems strategy, including UKG and related platforms, ensuring data integrity, process efficiency, reporting accuracy, and scalable People operations.
• Develop workforce reporting and People analytics that provide meaningful insights into turnover, retention, engagement, labor costs, recruiting effectiveness, and organizational performance.
• Translate New Waterloo's values into leadership behaviors, performance expectations, and consistent experiences that strengthen culture and reinforce accountability across every property.
• Design and enhance performance management, leadership development, succession planning, training, and employee engagement programs that support individual growth and organizational success.
• Support the successful integration of newly developed, acquired, or transitioned properties by building People infrastructure, processes, and culture from the ground up.
• Maintain a strong understanding of employment law, hospitality workforce trends, leadership development, and People best practices while continuously improving the effectiveness of the People function.
• Adhere to all company policies, procedures, standards, training materials, and operational expectations while performing additional duties and strategic initiatives as assigned.

Who you are: 

• You have 10+ years of progressive Human Resources leadership experience, including leadership within multi-unit, multi-property, or multi-location organizations.
• You are a strategic People leader who understands how to align talent, culture, and business objectives to drive organizational performance.
• You have extensive experience leading employee relations, workplace investigations, compliance, organizational development, and workforce operations within fast-paced environments.
• You are an exceptional communicator and relationship builder who earns trust at every level of an organization and confidently partners with executives, operational leaders, and frontline teams.
• You thrive in matrixed organizations and know how to influence, collaborate, and lead without relying solely on direct authority.
• You are highly knowledgeable in federal, state, and local employment law and have experience managing compliance, audits, wage and hour practices, and employment risk.
• You are equally comfortable developing long-term People strategy and stepping into day-to-day operational challenges when the business needs support.
• You are analytical and business-minded, using workforce data, KPIs, and financial insights to inform decisions and improve organizational performance.
• You have experience partnering closely with Finance and Operations to support labor planning, workforce optimization, budgeting, and business growth.
• You are highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple priorities while maintaining sound judgment and discretion in sensitive situations.
• You have experience leading HR systems, reporting, and People technology, with UKG experience strongly preferred.
• You are passionate about building high-performing teams, developing leaders, and creating cultures where people feel supported, challenged, and empowered to grow.
• You lead with integrity, accountability, empathy, and sound judgment while maintaining the confidence to make difficult decisions when necessary.
• Bachelor's degree required; PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification preferred.

BENEFITS

We are proud to offer competitive wages and the following benefits for full-time employees:

• Up to 3 weeks paid time off annually
• 50% off discount at most New Waterloo restaurants
• Health, vision + dental benefits
• 401K plans
• Paid holidays
• Volunteer pay
• Referral bonuses
• Discounts at our shops, hotels + local partnerships

ABOUT NEW WATERLOO 

New Waterloo is a community-centric independent hospitality company based in Austin, Texas. We use our platform to intentionally empower and get behind the choices of our people and communities - creating environments that sustain lasting social impact. Our team of hospitality experts provides the resources, talent, passion, and collaboration necessary to foster thoughtful places and thriving businesses.

New Waterloo is an equal-opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will be accepting applications on an ongoing basis until a candidate is selected for this role.